‘The kid’s got tears in his eyes, and I know he’s not going to play’

View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoKyle ROBERTSON | DISPATCHCoach Urban Meyer honors defensive lineman John Simon on Senior Day at Ohio Stadium. A knee injury kept Simon — the heart and soul of the 2012 team — out of the Michigan game.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Reporter Bill Rabinowitz, who covers Ohio State football for The Dispatch, spent months gaining insights into the 2012 Buckeyes. Through interviews with players, coaches and others, he learned more about how first-year coach Urban Meyer turned an average team into one that couldn’t be beaten. Today and Monday, we excerpt Chapter 22 — “Michigan: The Golden Door” — from Rabinowitz’s upcoming book, Buckeye Rebirth. Find out how to order the book.

The final full-scale practice on Thursday of Michigan Week, known as Senior Tackle, is one of Ohio State’s cherished traditions. It’s a time when seniors speak about what their years as a Buckeye have meant to them. Former coaches show up, as do parents.

First-year OSU coach Urban Meyer tweaked the traditional format in 2012. He had each senior’s position coach speak about the player, followed by an underclassman, and then the player himself.

Given the roller coaster these seniors had ridden during their careers, the stories were impassioned. Meyer said that safety Orhian Johnson’s speech was among the high points.

“He kind of lost it a little bit,” he said. “He said we saved his life because he was maybe headed in the wrong direction.”

OSU strength coach Mickey Marotti stood in the back, amazed at the eloquence he was hearing.

“Coaches were crying,” he said. “Urban was maybe 20 yards away, and he kept looking at me going, ‘Wow!’ They’re talking about their experiences and what the young kids have to look forward to and how this was such a special year and talking about blind faith. ...

“It’s not like we took over a program that was (bleep). There are a lot of banners hanging in this weight room. For those older kids to have come back for their senior year — they could have left. To have blind faith in the new staff, in Coach Meyer, in all of us, it’s pretty special.”

John Simon’s father, John Jr., said Senior Tackle was the most touching thing he experienced all year as a parent. “That’s when it really sunk in,” he said. “You had something special here besides winning football games. It’s corny to say this, but they all do love each other.”

Which made Senior Tackle for his son all the more poignant. The bursa sac injury that flared up during his four-sack game against Wisconsin had gotten worse. Simon had played through injuries all year, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that this would be one that the team’s heart and soul couldn’t overcome.

Meyer had seen Simon on Sunday. The bursa sac had inflamed so much that it was larger than a grapefruit. Simon’s skin was black and blue.

Medical tests had shown the damage wasn’t structural, and doctors were optimistic he’d play. Meyer sensed otherwise, and his pessimism grew throughout the week. Friday morning, he visited Simon.

“The kid’s got tears in his eyes, and I know he’s not going to play,” Meyer said. “Tears are coming out of my eyes, too.”

On game day, Simon went to the stadium early, hoping for a miracle.

The knee was so filled with fluid that Simon could barely move it.

“It got so big that they couldn’t drain it anymore,” said Meyer, who was still at the team hotel at the time. “It was actually a mass in there, like putty. They performed a little surgery in the stadium. Unbelievable.”

It was two hours before kickoff, too late to get Simon to the hospital, so doctors applied a local anesthetic and went to work.

“Here’s the toughest guy I’ve ever met, and he said it was the most painful thing he’s ever gone through in his life,” Meyer said. “But he asked for it.”

The procedure didn’t provide a miracle. Fifteen minutes before kickoff, Simon finally accepted that he’d be on the sideline for the final, most important game of his career.

“I could barely walk, let alone get in a stance,” he said.

Simon said that not attempting to play was one of the toughest decisions he’s had to make. But the last thing he wanted to do was hurt his team’s chance to win. So he accepted his fate.

Meyer was emotional enough about coaching his first Michigan game. Knowing that the team’s leader could not play added an emotional underpinning to his pregame speech.

Marotti has known Meyer for 25 years. He’s heard most of his pregame speeches. This was, Marotti said, “the best I’ve ever heard in all our years together. You could hear a pin drop. … It was awesome. The kids are still talking about it.”

Meyer knew his speech was a bull’s-eye.

“Everybody was pretty focused,” linebacker Etienne Sabino said. “Everybody could visualize it. Everyone could see in their mind the golden door and what we had to do to knock it down.”

They were also resolved to do it for Simon, to whom Meyer had promised the game ball.

“When the team came back after warmups, they picked me up fast,” Simon said. “By the time I hit the field for the Senior Walk, I was pretty much over it and ready to do whatever I could to help.”

Meanwhile, his parents stood with the other parents waiting for the seniors to be introduced, greeted by Meyer, and join them.

One by one, the 21 seniors, from walk-ons Kharim Stephens and Dalton Britt to starters, were announced and given hearty ovations. Meyer met all of them with handshakes and hugs. Simon, of course, was the last introduced. Wearing black sweatpants instead of his full uniform, Simon limped toward his coach. Meyer walked from midfield past the 20-yard line to embrace him as the crowd chanted Simon’s name.

“We were on the field with the other parents and still didn’t know whether John was going to be running out of the tunnel or not playing,” his father said.

When Renee Simon saw that her son wasn’t in uniform, she teared up.

“She would have been in tears, anyway,” the younger John Simon said.

Senior days are tricky things. The culmination of a four-year career has arrived. After greeting Meyer, they exchange hugs and kisses with their parents, who’ve accompanied them throughout their football journeys. Emotions can get heavy. Then, in an instant, all of that must be put aside for the game that will define their careers.